


Transition, Transmission

by wasted_truth



Series: The Rickest Morty [9]
Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: M/M, Questioning, Science, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-03 11:20:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12747291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wasted_truth/pseuds/wasted_truth
Summary: Evil Morty realizes how strange things are with his new transmitter…and are things also strange after a standard delivery run?





	Transition, Transmission

After several frustrating minutes of fussing, Morty managed to hook the transmitter to the new wires that lay on his cheek. He had forced himself, with Rick’s stern urging, to wait a few weeks before attempting this. Rick had been adamant that Morty was fully healed before experimenting. Now, however, that time was past, and Morty could finally test his augmentation.

He connected the transmitter to a receiver that was attached to silicone head. The head had the ability to make rudimentary speech and had limited vision. It looked like a bald mannequin’s head, but with semi-translucent, faint blue skin and divets where the eyes should be. The mouth he had left as an open hole. He had built the head before the surgery, but had been tweaking it since, mostly to stay occupied. The first time Rick saw it, he had shaken his head and muttered something about Halloween.

Bracing himself for pain, sensations, or both, Morty pressed the on-button on the back of the head. Surprisingly, he felt no pain or any other physical effect. Instead, he felt the strangest thing, something he wouldn’t have expected. He could feel the head, like a disembodied body part that was sitting on the table in front of him. He did not feel the wires at all, just the parts of the head that had sensory capabilities. It felt ghost-like, not as solid as his limbs, but definitely there.

“Weird,” he breathed.

Morty spent the rest of the morning struggling. Even when he reached the point of being exhausted, he pushed on, working to understand this system. He was trying to figure out how to make the right part of his brain send a signal down those wires; he knew the theory from when he and Rick had made the design, but the application? He was completely in the dark.

A hand fell on his shoulder. “How’s it going?”

Morty sighed and rubbed his forehead. “It feels like it’s going nowhere.”

Rick moved to the other side of Morty’s chair, so that his arm draped over the boy’s shoulders. “That’s science for you, kiddo. Lots of nothing and then a breakthrough. If you’re lucky. Want to go on this delivery? Take a break? You look fucking beat.”

“Yeah.” Morty sighed again. “Just let me…untangle myself.”

“I have to pack up anyway.” He kissed Morty’s temple. “Take your time.”

***

Morty took the sack of flurbos from Rick so Rick could slide into the driver’s seat. Morty dumped the bag at his feet and looked up to see Rick turned and fishing a bottle from between the door and the seat. The light from outside the ship illuminated the angle of Rick’s jaw, neck, and collarbone. Morty started.

_Has he lost weight?_ he wondered. _He’s always thin, but…_

Rick turned back and took a swig from his liquor bottle. At this angle, facing forward and looking out the windshield, he still looked thinner than usual, but not as bad as a moment ago.

_Have I been that lost in my own work?_

“Hey, Rick.” He kept the creeping worry from his voice. “Can we get something to eat?”

Rick took the bottle from his lips and belched. “Sure. Any requests?”

“No.” He paused then lied, “I’m just hungry. I forgot to eat breakfast.”

Rick looked at him until he started to feel uncomfortable. “Yeah, there’s someplace close, if you’re not feeling picky,” he said, turning away and starting to back out of the parking space. “I hate this fucking lot. Everything’s too narrow,” he grumbled.

They passed the next quarter hour in silence, except for Rick’s humming. Morty was talking himself out of his concerns. Rick hadn’t been acting different, that he had noticed. He still drank and smoked, of course, but nothing about that had changed. Had it? Morty felt guilt that he had been so occupied.

_Maybe it was the light. I’m worrying too much…he’s fine._

“Here we are.”

Morty watched the restaurant approach as they landed. He didn’t recognize it; it was a shabby looking place, maybe a diner. There were no other vehicles in front, and Rick parked right by the door. Morty peered through the grimy windows in the front doors, and saw a pathetic interior. The booths and chairs were a dingy blue, and he thought he saw that one of the lights was flickering. Morty pulled a face. He steeled himself for indigestion and got out of the ship.

In a booth that was possibly worse than what he had seen through the doors, Morty tossed aside a menu he couldn’t read. He watched Rick light a clove cigarette and take a deep drag. The sweet smoke drifted across the table, and Morty was struck with a flood of memories. That smell always reminded him of Rick.

“Morty?”

“Uh!” He jerked his head up. He hadn’t realized he had been staring down at the table, or that the waitress had arrived. “Oh, um.” He looked at the waitress, who looked like a tall moth to Morty. “I’ll take whatever you recommend.” When Rick didn’t speak up, Morty shot him a concerned look. “Are you ordering?”

Rick exhaled a blue-grey cloud. “No, *buuurp* I’m fine.”

“Oh.” A sinking feeling grew in his stomach.

***

After a questionable meal, Rick paid and they left, with Morty trailing behind. About halfway to the ship, Rick suddenly wrapped his arms around his abdomen and bent over.

“Rick?” Morty rushed up to him and put a hand on his back. “Are you okay?”

Rick let out a breathless laugh. He straightened himself up slowly. “Yeah. Just some heartburn.” Reaching back, he put his hand on the back of Morty’s neck. “You don’t seem yourself. You’re all distant and preoccupied. So, Morty, are _you_ okay?”

_Am I?_

“Yeah, Rick,” he finally managed. “I’m okay. Just preoccupied, like you said.”

 Rick pulled him into a brief hug. “Don’t push yourself. It’ll come together.”

“Yeah,” Morty fetched a sigh, not noticing how easily Rick had managed to deflect him.             

**Author's Note:**

> It's short, but it's done! I'm slowly coming back to life. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it...or stress over it, ha ha.
> 
> [Follow me!](https://wasted-truth.tumblr.com/)


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